


The road so far...

by Nenya



Series: The first and last [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: (tagging is hard), F/M, M/M, Prologue, Tonys life until Civil War, part of a series, some underage stuff happening but nothing too graphic I don't think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 05:00:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18137654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nenya/pseuds/Nenya
Summary: Tony's life, from genius child to Iron Man, the forming of the Avengers and the rest up until Civil War. Prelude to another planned story.





	The road so far...

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have no excuses for my other WIP's, I'm sorry you guys if you're still waiting for something. I can't promise anything except that I will finish them. No timeline though, so if you want to jump ship, I'd understand. 
> 
> Anyway, that's the first thing I was able to get together in a long time, that didn't make my skin crawl too much and it's fitting for another WIP I have been planning for a while now (no spoilers yet, I don't even know when that'll happen so... yeah). 
> 
> Tell me what you think? 
> 
> I'll try my best to come up with something for my other WIP's, meanwhile, enjoy my word-vomit here ;)

**Howard**

 

He stood infront of the large window, looking into the room without really seeing anything. How could this have happened, he wondered, not for the first time. He could still remember Maria's words, the words that changed everything.

“I'm pregnant.“

Two words, but so devastating he couldn't breathe right for at least five minutes.

And now, after days, weeks of shouting and denying everything. After months of preparing, a hurried wedding and other nonsense he was here. In a hospital with no idea what to do.

He had a child. A son. He never thought he would have one, one day. He wasn't the fatherly type, for god's sake.

The child was mere hours old and already, Howard felt like running away. Fast and as far as possible.

He couldn't even deny being the father. During the time the child was conceived him and Maria were at it like rabbits, truth be told, and she was always near him. Draped over him. All sexy legs and bendy waist and what was he to do? He'd always been a ladies man and this particular lady had him consider, even if it was only for a moment, monogamy. A relationship!

He shuddered.

Their romance had burned so hot for almost two months and then they went their separate ways. Maria was called back to Italy, back to the loving embrace of her family and Howard? He holed up in his workshop and doled out design after design, brooded over the Arc Reactor schematics and dealt with Peggy and SHIELD.

He bumped his head against the window.

What was he supposed to do? He'd already been in with Maria who was too tired to do or say anything more than a name. Antonio. He scoffed.

Antonio.

The name on the child's birth certificate read Anthony Edward Stark and that's that. He decided and Maria would have to deal with it.

Antonio.

Pshh.

A voice pulled him out of his brooding. “Howard! My man!“

He shuddered at the voice of his business partner. Obadiah Stane, slime ball extraordinaire, greedy piece of shit but an ace with business. One of the reasons Howard was able to spend so much time in his 'shop and with other stuff. Obie did everything and good. Better than Howard would be able to, at least. He could suppress his feelings around him. Had to. Obie was the only reason Stark Industries was getting bigger by the day, providing him with enough money to just be himself. Inventor, ladies man (although he put that on ice for the last months after the wedding and all, had to save face), and founding member of SHIELD.

Howard could have done everything (and probably better than Obie, honestly) but he wasn't the type to sit around a boardroom, discussing every investment and other nonsense. As much as he disliked Obie, the man removed unnecessary shit from his plate so he could concentrate on better things. He was thankful for that so, with an inward sigh, Howard plastered on one of his press smiles, turned around and greeted his business partner.

 

**Tony**

 

The child was a strange one. He didn't cry as much as other babies did, only sniffled every so often and was fine as long as someone was in the vicinity.

He smiled his gummy smile at his mother, sniffled and scrunched up his tiny nose as soon as his father was near and just exploded with giggles as soon as Jarvis came in the room. Everyone took it to be somewhat because Jarvis, as the Starks butler, and his wife Ana, the cook, took care of little Anthony so the Starks could go their own way.

Howard in his workshop or at SHIELD, Maria going out of her way with all her foundations and whatnot. She was the philanthropic bone of the family and no one could ever accuse Howard of being a profiteering asshole anymore. As much money as Stark Industries made with all the weapons they produced, Maria got back the goodwill of the people by giving back to the people. That they still lived in a huge mansion with a butler and driver and everything didn't concern the people too much since, yeah, they gave back. Took care of the underprivileged so if Howard got himself a business deal worth ten million, no one batted an eye anymore. Maria held another gala or dinner for one foundation or the other and made another ten million to give to hospitals or homeless shelters or whatever organisation needed money the most at that time.

Life went on as it does and the child grew up, as children do.

He loved his mama, had a healthy respect for his father (at least until the age of five, maybe six) and was, strangely as some would say, really fond of the butler and the cook. Some business partners started bringing up boarding schools as soon as the little Stark heir started talking and when he started showing interest in his father's work and built a circuit board at age four Howard started to look into all the proposed boarding schools. Not to help the child along, mind you, but to get him out of the workshop and away from the coddling of the Jarvises and Maria.

He's a boy, Howard would say, he needs the challenge, he needs to be with other children with his brains (even though Howard didn't think much of it).

And so, at age five, Jarvis got into one of the Starks cars with a nervous and afraid Anthony, and drove to the boarding school where Anthony would spend the next years studying, being bullied by some boys, used and exploited for his smarts by others. It wasn't too bad, though. He had his books and his time in a school owned workshop (it wasn't as good as the one at home, but Tony made do). The other boys all smelled kind of funny anyway, so Tony wasn't too heartbroken about this.

It wasn't until years later, Tony now proud fourteen and at MIT, when he made his first real friend (except for Jarvis). James Rhodes, lovingly called Rhodey by Tony, among other things, took the gangly fourteen year old under his wing (and into his room to sober up). He was the first person who smelled nice too, so Tony took that as a sign to keep that one close.

And another friend showed up. Tiberius Stone.

So far, Tony had had his fair share of crushes on different people but with Tiberius, he fell head over heels in love (and he used a nice aftershave or something to cover up the frankly horrendous stench that surrounded him most days).

Suffice to say, Rhodey wasn't as enthusiastic about the relationship and tried his best to show Tony that Ty was not a good one.

Suffice to say also, that Tony was stubborn and, as mentioned, in love.

The relationship, as it was, was pretty tame for the most part. Some innocent kisses, longing looks, holding hands, Tony was in heaven.

But Ty was a grown boy of twenty and had more on his mind than the innocent little fourteen year old.

Their first time was also the last and the relationship fizzled out after that.

Something happened to Tony and he couldn't come up with a reason what it was exactly or how it even happened but there it was.

It started innocently, as it always did. A few kisses here and there, a bit of cuddling infront of the TV and then Ty started to touch Tony. Not so innocently.

And Tony enjoyed it immensely, no question.

But, and it was a big but.

It went all kinds of wrong. Tony lost control and everything was a bit hazy during their time together. Ty even mocked him, said if he'd known Tony'd prepared himself so thoroughly, he would have started sooner.

Something wasn't as it should be and that terrified Tony. He never did prepare himself, whatever that might have meant (he found out later and was equally puzzled and intrigued). He didn't even know what happened exactly, just that his body didn't feel like his, didn't feel like he was in control of what he did. Like a robot. A sex-bot, maybe. He'd moaned, screamed and waited for something to happen but it didn't come and he didn't come either. Ty didn't seem to be too upset about it though, having had his orgasm and all. It didn't matter one bit that Tony was lying there, writhing on the sheets, wantonly moaning still when Ty got up to shower (and he took matters into his own hands for the first time).

And since Ty didn't have any aftershave or deodorant with him, he brought the stench with him too when he was done showering.

And Tony, shaking with aftershocks of an unsatisfying orgasm, glared at Ty and all but threw him out of his room.

That was the end of Tony's interest in men. Not to say that he didn't kind of lust after one or the other guy, but he never did anything to follow up.

He didn't want to be so out of control and he liked orgasms as much as the next person and since Ty couldn't give one to him, or didn’t know how to, Tony was certain that his future, and more orgasms, lay with girls and women of all sorts (because when it was just him and his hands... it felt good, awesome, really, but also somewhat unsatisfying, as if something was missing).

He would be proven wrong, years down the line, with one other man but that is another story entirely (and if he forgot that one time with that one guy... he was drunk and couldn't remember anything and that's what he's telling himself whenever certain memories of green eyes, black hair and a savage smirk promise untold pleasure and he wakes up from dreams of 'that guy' and has to take a shower and switch out his sheets).

So, Ty was gone and Tony fell in with the girls and women around campus. Rhodey, always the voice of reason, couldn't do anything but sigh and deal with an enthusiastic Tony fresh in love, and a Tony unconsolable when that love turned out to only be a one night stand.

After a particularly nasty breakup with one Sunset Bain, Tony gave up on finding love and turned towards orgasms without feeling. They still felt good and it didn't matter what the girls smelled like as long as they got with the program and let themselves go with Tony around.

He soon got a pretty good reputation with the female student body. None of the women he invited in his bed was left unsatisfied and gushed about the boy with magic fingers, a wicked tongue and the multiple orgasms he brought them.

Some even looked forward to a repeat night with him or even a relationship but Tony wasn't interested anymore.

He'd wanted love and got sex. He'd wanted feelings and got one night of passion so instead of looking for love he prefered to spend his time otherwise. One night stands, Rhodey and his workshop with the occasional class intermixed. He built his first robot during that time, DUM-E and paved the way for JARVIS later.

He'd learned to hide his feelings and started to be the womanizer everyone thought he'd be. After all, he was Howard's son and Howard always chased every skirt he saw (allthough he got calmer as the years went by and Maria slowly brought him under her thumb).

He learned some very valuable lessons at MIT though and not only in the classes he took. The most important lesson: Everyone, except for Rhodey, leaves. He could hold on to some with precious gifts and rides in Howards private jet and expensive holidays but, in the end, everyone left.

Even his parents.

His last year at MIT, he was just home for a few weeks for christmas and the holidays, when they went out and never came back. Jarvis was with him all the way, Rhodey was his rock and Obie, smelling like something rotten as always, tried to be there for Tony too.

He didn't cry at his parents funeral because he was a Stark and Stark men are made of iron.

He cried at the funeral of Edwin Jarvis and his wife Ana a few years later,  though. No one else was there, after all and the press wasn't interested in the death of a butler and his wife.

Stark Industries was his now, well, as soon as he turned twenty one it would be. Until then, Obie would take over as CEO. Tony still had to finish college after all and then he could start learning the business, as Obie was so fond of saying.

Obie, it turned out, won the golden goose since Tony wasn't interested in running the company but spent most of his time in the workshop, first his fathers, and then his own when he finally moved out of the mansion in New York and into the new house he helped design in California.

He found yet another person who didn't smell bad to him, one Virginia Potts.

One day she marched into his office, where he begrudgingly signed some contracts at Obies behest, when a strawberry blonde woman stormed into his office, waved some papers infront of him and told him off for making some mistake or other.

The security guards rushing in behind her were deftly dealt with, writhing on the ground and moaning at the sting in their eyes.

Virginia earned her nickname, Pepper, by the way she used her pepper spray.

Pepper and Rhodey got on pretty well and Harold 'Happy' Hogan fit in nicely after showing up a few years later.

He now had three people who smelled nice and, strangely, didn't leave. They were the exception to the rule and all was good for a few years.

Until Afghanistan.

Where he went for a weapons demonstration and stayed for about three months, courtesy of the Ten Rings.

Where he got a new addition to his body, thanks to one Yinsen who didn't make it out with Tony. He still had nightmares about that.

Where he became Iron Man.

Until Obie showed his true nature.

When Pepper found out that it was thanks to Obie the Ten Rings captured Tony.

When Obie tried to kill Pepper, and Tony by removing the Arc Reactor that prevented some shrapnel to reach and rip his heart appart.

When Tony, in the end, couldn't reach Obie and he fell into an overloading Arc Reactor and died.

Or when his Arc Reactor tried to kill him. Fun times.

He should mention Hammer and Vanko trying to get to him too, and Natashalie Rushmanoff spying for SHIELD and such but...

Well, who can blame him if he was more upset that it took him that long and some recorded message from Howard until he came up with the solution? Thanks dad, etc.

Or that one of his creations slowly killed him?

All the other things were just side notes, as far as Tony was concerned at the time. He was dying, after all. Priorities and everything.

Hammer and Vanko both smelled kind of sickly, gaggingly sweet while Rushmanoff (or Natasha Romanoff, or whatever her real name is) smelled cold. Just... cold.

Nick Fury, director of SHIELD and his sidekick, Agent Agent (also known as Coulson) didn't smell too bad though and that surprised Tony. It would never be his favourite, but he could live with it. If he had to. Which he didn't so. All's well and everything.

Except for the needle to his neck with some kind of antidote against heavy metal poisoning.

So not cool Natashalie!!

And then New York happened.

 

**New York**

 

The attack on New York and the formation of the Avengers.

That particular bit, the Avengers, would shape Tony into something he later started to not hate but certainly didn't like too much. Lucky for everyone, it didn't take too long for Tony to pull out and change his life, once again.

With the help of someone he would've never expected (or dreamed of, though this particular someone invaded his dreams pretty regularly after New York and when he didn't have nightmares about endless space and such...).

-

When one Natashalie Rushmanoff (he's staying with the name for now since it's very questionable that any of the names she's told him is her real name. She probably doesn't even know her real name anymore...) composed her resume of Tony, she branded him a narcissist. Unable to play well with others and not recommended for the 'Team of exceptional people' or whatever Nicky called his dream. Iron Man, on the other hand, got a shining YES in big gold letters. The fact that Tony, at the time he was judged and analyzed by the spy, was dying of heavy metal poisoning didn't count towards the outcome. He was under extreme physical and mental stress so it could be said that some of his behaviour 'could' maybe eventually have been because of his dying. Just some food for thought. But Tony wasn't too sure about the little spies ability in profiling anyway so didn't give any more thought to the matter.

He didn't want to join Nicky's super secret boyband anyway.

Imagine his surprise when, on the evening of taking Stark Tower in New York off the grid and onto the new and improved Arc Reactor, just when he was clinking a glass of champagne with Pepper, Agent Agent called (and he'll stay with this name too until he breathes his last, how come Pepper knows he's called Phil anyway?).

And it wasn't like SHIELD could be snuffed and told to call later. Oh no. They just called to see if the person would play ball because when SHIELD calls, they're already in your house, know everything about you and your friends and you don't have a snowballs chance in hell at getting rid of them before you gave them what they wanted.

They were good like that. Or bad, whatever.

So, Agent called, Tony tried to get rid of him and then Agent stepped out of the elevator, ruining a nice evening he planned to spend with Pepper.

And everything went downhill from there… (Tony still blames Pepper for that one, even years later. Well, at least 12% of the blame. Or none, jeez, Pep, lay off with the poking!)

Turned out that there was a place with actual living god's, if one would believe in them that is. Norse gods. Like Thor and Odin and, most importantly, Loki.

Why most importantly?

Because it was Loki who took control of some SHIELD agents and scientists (mind whammied them into submission or something with his glowstick of destiny, or boring glowy staff, whatever), got his hands on a cosmic cube and started bullying his way through Germany. Well, Stuttgart, to be precise and a museum at that, where he scanned a mans eye (horribly painful, Tony heard later, and probably lethal?) and stole some Iridium (well, Barton stole it but he was mind controlled by Loki so...). Then he tried his hand at dominance, all shouty, 'Kneel!' and other nonsense.

Tony put an end to that. With a repulsor blast to the face (or his chest, whatever, in the end, all that matters is that Loki stopped).

And it turned out that Captain America was alive too, smelling all clean and Tony didn't even know whatever else, but he didn't like it very much. And he was a judging asshole. Who'd have thought...

Seems SHIELD found him frozen and thawed him and, yay, he was alive... again... or something. All thanks to the Super-Soldier-Serum.

At least Tony had the opportunity to meet and talk and work with one Dr. Bruce Banner (and he smelled nice, all herby calm with a hint of spice or something). Scientist extraordinaire and awesome green rage monster. That meeting and their working together made up for any other shit Rogers threw at him.

And so, with the rise of that would be conqueror, the Avengers got together. On paper at least, since Tony wasn't even in the game for membership. And the group was more about bickering than working together.

Until Loki killed Agent and Fury manipulated all of them. Guilted them into working together. It worked though and that's what matters.

After Agent's death and after everyone took a breather and the helicarrier was stable enough (after Barton attacked and Bruce went all ‘Hulk smash’ and other nonsense), Tony had an epiphany. Well, maybe epiphany is too great a word but, details.

They were all sitting together, the Avengers, finally on one page (even though Tony still wasn't one of them and Bruce was gone, so was Thor, but again, details). They had to find out where Loki was going, and fast.

And it hit Tony. Just like that, as if someone just slapped his head with a clue-by-four and the pieces came together.

Loki WANTED everyone to see, to experience what he was planning. Out of some kind of second child look-at-me-daddy tantrum or something else, didn't matter. He needed everything, every eye on him, applause, flowers, his name among the stars, the whole nine yards.

Something Tony knew well, didn't he just finish his tower in New York emblazoned with his name?

And there was the slap.

Loki needed an audience, Loki needed energy and where better to get it than from the Arc Reactor deep in the bowels of Stark Tower in fucking New York with millions of people around?

And they were off.

Well, Tony was off in his Iron Man suit. Sputtering and falling to pieces but still able to fly and connect to JARVIS and the others following him in a quinjet.

On the way to New York, Tony pulled up all information he could get on Loki, the Tesseract and everything. Reports from agents, video files and didn't that put a damper on his mood. Because, when Loki first arrived on earth he looked like someone just worked him over really good and then spit him out (which he was, kinda, out of the portal?). He looked unhinged, insane, exhausted and sweaty, with dark bags under his eyes (and wasn't he supposed to be a god? Shouldn't he be immune to exhaustion or whatever brought that out?), stumbled a bit on hitting ground and as much as Tony didn't want to see it, there were some glaring similarities to way back when he stumbled through a dessert and fell into Rhodeys arms.

Something niggled deep down in his brain, 'too easy', it said, 'look!' it demanded but as much as he looked at the evidence, something was missing to piece it all together. Something didn't feel right, sure, but what. He couldn't put a finger on it and by the time he reached New York and his tower, he was nowhere nearer to figuring out what he was missing than he was when he started this journey.

JARVIS informed him of activity at the tower. At least two people who didn't belong there and some kind of contraption that was fed by the Arc Reactor.

At least Tony wasn't wrong with his deductions, he just waited for someone to pronounce him best detective in the world. Maybe someone would make a movie out of it or something. The new Sherlock Holmes. Food for thought, someone should probably call him with an offer… Back to the matter at hand.

He landed, if you could call him nearly crashing onto the landing pad in his sputtering and sparking armor, and walked towards the glass doors leading into his penthouse. Loki, the little shit, just looked at him with a smirk and then turned and walked deeper into Tony’s new home. 

He was prepared, sort of, for anything. He just had to stall Loki, get to the bar with his new bracelets (coded to respond only to him and call the armor to him whenever and wherever!) and hope that his recently developed, new and sparkling Mark V was ready for action and fast enough if something happened to him. No biggie.

Loki’s eyes followed Tony as he made his way through the door, across the floor and finally, thank god (or was it gods now?) reached the bar.They bantered, just a bit, while Tony put on his bracelets and, because he was still Tony Stark, poured himself a drink. Don’t judge, he earned it fair and square. 

And then, Tony made a mistake. Probably. Some would say just walking into the penthouse without his armor was a mistake but no one ever said Tony possessed even an ounce of common sense or any kind of self-preservation instinct. He’d worry about that later because the wannabe world ruler stalked towards him, crazed look and manic grin and then he sniffed the air. Loki honest to god (heh) tilted his head back and took a deep whiff and his eyes snapped shut.

Tony cleared his throat, uncomfortable but not surprised because, hello, he just spent hours flying across the ocean, kicked some gods ass, well, multiple gods asses, bantered with spies, agents and Captain America, while trying to spy on the spies, created a program together with Bruce Banner (!) and then prevented a helicarrier from falling from the sky and then, again, spent another few hours flying across the same ocean again just to arrive at his home that’d been invaded so sorry for not smelling like roses. And, if JARVIS didn’t hurry up, no one would care because he would end up a smear on the floor of his penthouse soon enough, according to the eyes that were trained on him now. AND STILL WITH THE SNIFFING. 

Loki stalked towards him and invaded his personal space but again, Tony fucking Stark doesn’t back down and so he just smirked at the crazy alien with the (probably) bad sinusitis or something. It couldn’t be that he could smell Tony and even if he could, he doubted Loki would enjoy it overmuch so it had to be something else, right?

And it hit him.

No, not inspiration or something.

The scent that was slowly saturating the penthouse (yeah, what the fuck indeed).

It was kind of petrichor-y, and yes, that’s totally a word, don’t judge). And yes, he asked JARVIS, later, after everything was done, for the correct name because saying something smells like it just rained and the sun just started to warm up and dry the ground. Since it’d been dry all day, the scent could just come from one thing. The crazed alien coming closer and closer, determined to (probably) kill him right now right here. And it smelled so good.

He swallowed hard and Loki’s eyes snapped down, to his throat, watching the movement and, damn, that was some reaction there. Tony couldn’t remember the last time someone had him react like this (and he’s lying, he remembers Ty, thanks very much).

Loki grabbed his neck, long fingers pressing down on the sides and Tony’s knees nearly gave up at the feeling. It was… strange. Arousing and liquifying his insides, fogging up his brain and melting his bones until he wanted to spill over the floor into a puddle with Loki above him and that couldn’t happen, shouldn’t happen, what the fuck was wrong with him?

He was still trying to get his brain back online when Loki tilted his head and kissed him. Yup, that’s right. Crazy alien, hell bent on world domination took a few minutes out of his busy timetable to kiss Tony silly. And all the work he did trying to get his brain back online? Toast. Zilch, he had to start again because that just didn’t compute (but it was world shattering in the fact that he’d never had a kiss quite like that).

It ended as quickly as it began and left Tony longing for more, for hands on his skin, lips ravaging him and, just more. More of everything. More of Loki, his scent.

And everything went sideways from there. The look in Loki’s eyes went from smoldering want to confused to flat and crazed in a matter of moments. He tried some alien-voodoo or something with his scepter (the glowstick of dickery!) and just hit the Arc in Tony’s chest. Loki hadn’t expected his mind control to fail and Tony was Tony, even with a brain still scrambled somewhat and trying to come up with something about what happened just a few minutes earlier, quipped something about Loki’s virility. Which was stupid, of course, but again lack of common sense your name is Tony. 

The kiss apparently forgotten (and thank fuck for that!) Loki growled something about insolent hens, grabbed his shirt and threw him out of the window. Of his penthouse. Luckily, JARVIS was on time with the replacement armor or Tony would have ended up a splat on the pavement.

The rest of the Avengers showed up just as the portal opened up in the sky and proper aliens (not human-looking ones like Thor and Loki) fell through like a swarm of locusts and, all things said and done, they kind of looked like insects. 

They fought, bur for every aline killed, seemingly five more came through the portal and don’t even mention the space whales. Huge whale like things, armored of course, that floated through the air like a fish through water. Surreal.

And the cherry on top of all that mess was the World Security Council and their awesome idea to drop a nuke on New York to get rid of the aliens. And everyone else in the city. A+ thinking.

And of course Fury called Tony, told him about it just when Natashalie got hold of the scepter and was about to close the portal.

Tony wasn’t called a genius for nothing and he had a plan of where to put the nice nuke that would otherwise kill them all.

Heartfelt words all around (not really), he tried to call Pepper but it didn’t connect and then he was through the portal, nuke on his back. 

Where before there was blue sky, clouds, the familiar sight of New Yorks skyline now there was nothing. Dark, JARVIS’ connection cut, his armor sputtered a few times (not that he could hear it, in space no one can hear you scream, after all), and then nothing. He still steered the nuke towards the massive fleet of space ships right infront of him, let go and the last thing he remembered was a big blinding explosion, the feeling of falling and then, nothing.

Lucky for Tony, the Hulk liked the Tin Man and caught him, preventing him from splattering on the pavement. One mighty Hulk-roar later and Tony was back among the land of the living, playing down everything that happened and trying to get his shit together again. With Shawarma. Good idea.

 

**After**

 

Where he once separated his life to before and after Afghanistan, he put in another partition after the happenings in New York. Before and after.

After New York.

The Avengers came together one last time, to send Thor of with a bound and gagged Loki, after which the two spies went back to SHIELD, Captain America went on a road trip and Bruce and Tony went back to Stark Tower, once again under construction because of the damage.

He lived his life for a while, in a relationship with Pepper Potts, no less (and he didn't even think of one particular alien, like, ever!). He thought, if not with her, perfect Pepper Potts who stood by him for years and didn't take any shit from him, ever, then there was no chance in him finding his happily ever after. No matter how cynical he made himself up to be, he still had hopes deep down for something... more. More than a quick fuck and walk of shame out of the bedroom in the small hours of the morning to leave poor Pepper to bring the trash out (as she so deftly put it more than once).

And Extremis happened. Aldrich Killian.

He had some idea or other and went for Tony at a New Years party (years ago, in the nineties for crying out loud). Tony wasn't interested (and too drunk to be honest).

Years later, Killian approached Stark Industries and Pepper, flirted with her, made Happy suspicious.

Happy decided to investigate and got blown up (he didn't die, thank Tesla) which made Tony decide to take matters into his own hands.

Tony's house in Malibu got blown up, Iron Man escaped and landed in Tennessee, more people blew up and Pepper got abducted and injected with some kind of faulty virus called Extremis.

Tony, of course, rescued Pepper (and Rhodey rescued the president who was kidnapped but that’s another story for another time). Pepper blew up Killian and Tony blew up all his armors. For Pepper, since she didn't really like that he went out and risked his life all the time. He should have noticed something, back then. That team he was on supposedly didn’t even call to ask if everything was okay. The same happened a few months earlier when all the shit with Hydra and SHIELD went down (Hydra infiltrated SHIELD for decades), massive confusion, Captain America as public enemy nr. one and three! helicarriers falling out of the sky and the internet swamped with SHIELDs secrets and Tony had to scramble and try to save as many undercover agents as possible… Did they call? You answer that question (and before anyone asks, Tony tried!! He called everyone he could think of but they were apparently too busy to talk to him, to have him help with the damn helicarriers so they didn’t even lift off and had to crash into the Potomac but whatever, right?).

He got rid of the Arc Reactor after that and after tweaking Extremis just right so that every trace of Extremis could be safely removed from Pepper and his Arc Reactor surgery could be supported by a mild version of Extremis. All went well.

Except that he finally went mad and built a homicidal murder bot that tried to eradicate all of humanity and he lost JARVIS in the process (despite the fact that Ultron wasn’t even supposed to be a robot, just a program to protect the earth and Bruce helped and the staff of dickery played it's role too, not to mention the witch with her mind games and Thor with his lightning... well, in the end everyone decided it was Tony's fault and that was that).

And Pepper left him. Well, they decided that a relationship between them wasn't one of their best ideas, no matter how good it was, in the end they decided to end it for the sake of their years long friendship. There were more reasons than that but the fact is, Tony and Pepper split. She spent some time in Malibu while he stayed at New York. Their friendship was a little bit awkward for a while but after some talks and tears (not only Peppers but Tony would never admit it) they were good once again.

Then the media dubbed 'Civil War' happened, with another homicidal murder bot (okay, it's Barnes but still, the Winter Soldier was a homicidal murder bot no matter what anyone says, Rogers so shut the fuck up)! Things blowing up, lot’s of running around and trying to deal with everyones shit and in the end, Tony was left alone in a deserted Hydra Bunker in Siberia... 

And that is where we’re leaving him for now...


End file.
